'Why pick a fight where there isn't need for one?': Omar Abdullah on relations with Centre, restoring J&K statehood

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said that it is unnecessary to pick a fight with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government at the Centre when there is not the need for one. With this, Abdullah hinted that having pragmatic relations with the Centre is key to ensure progress and development in the state. 

“But if we are agreed that Jammu and Kashmir needs to progress, that development needs to take place, that statehood needs to be restored, should I pick a fight where at the moment there isn't the need for one?” Abdullah said in an exclusive interaction with India Today. 

He also mentioned that his Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were very forthright in accepting the people have spoken and that the mandate has to be respected.

He added that they will support and assist the government to the fullest. He, however, specified that just because he is working in tandem with the Centre, it does not mean that the National Conference aligns with the BJP on the issues facing Jammu & Kashmir. 

Abdullah's statement comes days after he praised Narendra Modi for fulfilling his promise of conducting the assembly elections in the state. When questioned on the pushback against his pragmatic approach, the J&K CM had a stern response for naysayers. 

“That's okay. Politics is about having different opinions. So there will be people who don't agree with me. They're welcome to try their luck and sit on the chair that I'm sitting on. Let them. Then they can be as belligerent as they like.”

He added that if their methods were to work better than his methods, he'd be the first one to come on the same platform and say that he was wrong.

Speaking at the inauguration of the 6.5-km Z-Morh tunnel in Ganderbal, he said that the Prime Minister not only fulfilled his promise of conducting elections but also made sure that the process was free and fair without any irregularities and misuse of power. 

Furthermore, Abdullah reminded PM Modi of his promise of reinstating J&K's statehood made on the Yoga Day last year.

"People keep asking me about this, and I tell them that my heart says that PM Modi fulfilled his promise of holding elections. I believe this promise will soon be fulfilled, and Jammu and Kashmir will again be a state in this country,” Omar added.